When you think of MTB in South Africa you usually think about the Cape Epic, but that’s far from the only big stage race that’s run in that part of the world.
This year I’ll be reporting for MarathonMTB.com from the Old Mutual JoBerg2c MTB stage race. The race is 910km over 9 days from outside Johannesburg to Scottburgh on the coast near Durban and the organisers boast of only 10km of tarmac.
This race is put on by local farmers and passes through their communities on the way to the coast. They take pride in every organisation who works on the race being paid and reckon this has the effect of uplifting communities and of giving them a foolproof way to raise money for their schools, churches and charities. Great race for a good cause? Win-win.
I decided to do this race because of the rave reviews that friends and other racers gave it for both the trails (including a lot of singletrack) and the organisation. Being someone who’s only previously entered small stage races (i.e., not many entrants) I’m astounded at the level of organisaton. I’ve already booked my daily 30 minutes of massage for the race. There’s also a few local bike shops providing mechanic services for a fee, and I have one lined up to clean, lube and look after my bike for the duration.
Personally, I’ve never understood the obsession that race organisers have with pairs racing. Ten to 15 years ago MTB stage races were run as pairs races for safety reasons, but that’s not such an issue any more. So I’ve not entered races in the past simply because they were pairs-only races. My reasons are varied – not wanting to let someone down or be let down and simply liking to do my own thing. And you can also ruin a friendship.
For this year’s JoBerg2c I’ve solved the last problem by teaming up with someone I’ve never even spoken to. John Allison and I finished 9 seconds apart at the Capital Punishment. Then a mutual friend pointed out that we were both entering in the JoBerg2c solo and were clearly well matched, so why not team up in Masters? It made sense and the organisers generously made a few adjustments to their entries. I look forward to meeting John, hopefully some time before we get to the start line, and having a good crack.
And my goal? To break the MarathonMTB.com South Africa stage race curse.